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Kirsten Olson

This tag is associated with 11 posts

Cooperative Catalyst Presents: Kirsten Olson

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Kirsten Olson is a leading writer in the U.S. describing education from a student’s point of view.  Her recent book Wounded By School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up To Old School Culture(2009) was one of the ten bestselling books at Teachers College Press this past year, and was nominated for Book of the Year … Continue reading »

We’re Not Getting Paid

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Over here at the COOP, we’re not getting paid to “influence” the reform discourse in education. Are we ever missing the gravy train. Returning from a weekend practicing mindfulness for educators (so wrong side of the tracks), I blithely take some deep breaths, settle onto my ergonomic knee chair, and catch up on my emails … Continue reading »

If You Were A Learning Entrepreneur

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Folks,  This is cross-posted at Teacher Magazine.  I am trying something out here and I really would love your comments and thoughts. If you were a learning entrepreneur, you would consider school part of your “balanced portfolio” of learning experiences, but one and only one venue for learning some kinds of things.  If you were … Continue reading »

What The Revolution Looks Like, Elsewhere

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Today I was talking with my great friend and school redesigner Antonia Rudenstine about the slow pace of the educational revolution in America.  How even among large school districts and folks who have a lot of policy muscle, the vision is still pretty small, pretty conventional, pretty much about teacher-centered instruction, using test scores to show … Continue reading »

The War On Kids

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At the AERO Conference this past week we screened the movie, THE WAR ON KIDS. I’m interested in your opinion. The documentary, which is 95 minutes and has 8 segments, basically makes the argument that middle class schools, for white children, are a lot like prison.  It opens with an examination of “zero tolerance” policies, … Continue reading »

Three

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What must we do to transform schools into places of authentic, democratic learning? 1. Adults in school should experience joy in learning every day. This should be the goal:  to give yourself over to the delight of learning something, or pursuing something you care deeply about, or are curious about, every day.  Because if you … Continue reading »

Whom Are You Following?

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My life as an activist feels more involuntary than voluntary–like Paula it seems I was born to it rather than “chose it.”  This natal gift however, has not always been comfortable.   (And as someone who abhors “innateness” theories, this explanation also doesn’t seem very satisfactory.  Paula, this is a little bit of a lazy woman’s … Continue reading »

The Hard Path, Part 3

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This quote from Kirsten’s post about causing trouble sticks with me. The most important people in the school building are students. Their needs, their concerns, their desires, their lives should be what drives the institution. It should be student biorhythms that determine school schedules, their intellectual profiles that create its learning climates and activities, their … Continue reading »

Sacred Wounds

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In Wounded by School, Kirsten Olson validates the experiences we have all had. Whether that’s the formation of a self-image that we are incapable or stupid, reflecting the narrow and inflexible curriculum of public schools; or the dulling of our senses and joy for learning as we do rote memorization in order to regurgitate on … Continue reading »

Wounded By School & Cost-added Education

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“But this study makes a critical dilemma for teachers more clear. Teachers who saw the act of learning as highly complex and non-routine experienced more uncertainty as they approached their teaching tasks than teachers who saw learning as relatively straightforward (168).” – Kirsten Oslson, Wounded By School In Wounded By School, Kirsten Olson makes education … Continue reading »

Week of April 5, 2010

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This week we will be posting our reactions to the book Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to Old School Culture by Kirsten Olson. Join in the conversations and be part of the re-visioning of modern education systems.

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